Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

After leaving the cave, Gou An did not return to the town. Instead, he took out the donkey he had stored in the Palm Heaven Map and rode it to continue south.

They specifically chose routes with sparse spiritual energy to avoid encountering powerful cultivators.

Gou An didn't choose to take the flying boat back directly because he wanted to take the opportunity to travel around and didn't want to get into any trouble.

They walked like this for about half a month, and nothing happened.

Gou An ate, drank, and played all the way without arousing any suspicion from others.

On this day, Gou An passed through a village and it happened to be lunchtime.

He intended to bypass the village, but then he smelled a delicious aroma. Someone was cooking, which immediately caught Gou An's nose, and his mouth watered.

So Gou An rode his donkey into the village, hoping to find the house from which the fragrance was coming.

But after entering the village, Gou An realized something was wrong.

When the villagers discovered that outsiders had entered the village, they all looked at them with suspicion, as if they had seen a monster.

This puzzled Gou An greatly. Before he came in, he had activated his transformation technique to the extreme and completely concealed his demonic aura. Even cultivators would have difficulty recognizing him. How could the mortal villagers here possibly notice that something was wrong with him?

Gou An wanted to ask the villagers by the roadside, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he scared them so much that they hid inside their houses.

For a moment, Gou An thought his magic had failed, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch his face.

I felt much more at ease after confirming that there were no problems.

When Gou An found the house from which the aroma wafted, he could see a busy figure in the kitchen through the fence; it was a young woman in her thirties.

Although dressed simply, she could not hide her still-plump figure.

"Er Ya, dinner's ready!" The woman served the dishes and placed them on the small wooden table in the yard.

Gou An looked over and saw that it was a plate of stir-fried cured pork, salty and golden in color, which made him look very appetizing.

In his previous life, Gou An loved to eat this, but he had never encountered it in this world, nor did he know how to make it.

I never expected to run into him in this small village, and I couldn't help but lick my lips.

Soon a chubby little girl came out of the house. She looked about eight or nine years old and resembled a lucky baby.

Seeing the dishes on the table, he quickly ran to the kitchen and filled two bowls with rice.

However, one of the bowls was rather large, more like a basin than a bowl, and Fatty placed this large rice bowl in front of her, which was obviously her portion size.

Seeing that they were about to start their meal, Gou An was really hungry, so he knocked on the courtyard gate.

Hearing the noise, the mother and daughter turned to look at the door.

"Who are you?" The woman looked at Gou An with a puzzled expression and a hint of wariness in her eyes. She instinctively shielded the fat girl behind her.

Upon seeing this, Gou An quickly and politely clasped his hands in greeting, then said, "I am a barefoot doctor who has been traveling around. I smelled the delicious aroma of food and so, shamelessly, I would like to ask for a bite to eat!"

Fearing the woman might refuse, Gou An added, "Don't worry, I'll pay for it."

Upon hearing Gou An's words, the woman looked him up and down, clearly somewhat doubtful, and asked uncertainly, "Are you really a doctor?"

Gou An's statement was based on his observations and experiences along the way.

These mortals, their favorite identity is that of a traveling physician, and they are always very polite to anyone they meet.

After all, in this world, especially among ordinary people, there are very few people who understand medicine. Many people can't even find a doctor when they get sick and often have no choice but to tough it out.

"Absolutely genuine!" Gou An nodded emphatically. He had now achieved some success in alchemy and was considered a doctor, so he wasn't lying.

"Since you're a doctor, come in!" The woman immediately turned and went to the kitchen, bringing out a new set of bowls and chopsticks.

Seeing that the woman agreed, Gou An didn't stand on ceremony. He tied the donkey to the tree by the door and happily went into the courtyard to sit down.

Their lunch was simple: a bowl of stir-fried cured pork and a bowl of wild vegetable and egg drop soup.

Although it was just a simple home-cooked meal, it made Gou An miss it dearly.

"The doctor looks very young. I wonder how many years he has been practicing medicine?" the woman asked curiously as she sat down again.

Gou An couldn't wait to pick up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth to chew. The taste made Gou An almost close his eyes in comfort.

When asked by the woman, Gou An simply replied, "It's been two or three years, I guess!"

"My child happens to have a slight illness. I wonder if the doctor could help take a look? I won't charge you for the meal!" The woman was slightly disappointed when she heard that it had only been two or three years, but she still spoke up.

Gou An looked like a chubby girl wolfing down her food; she didn't seem sick at all.

If that's true, it's because you eat too much and get too fat.

However, since he had already eaten the food, he still had to put on an act, so he asked the fat girl to take his pulse.

This trick was something I learned from Master Jiu Lu when I was in the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

It appears to be taking a pulse, but in reality, it involves inserting a wisp of spiritual energy into the target's body, allowing one to observe the condition inside the body through this wisp of spiritual energy.

Just as Gou An thought, Fatty was perfectly healthy and there was nothing wrong with her at all.

Then Gou An stopped and said, "Sister, your child is very healthy, he doesn't have any illnesses."

After saying that, he couldn't wait to pick up another piece of meat.

It wasn't that Gou An was too greedy; it was mainly because Fatty ate too fast. In the short time Gou An had taken her pulse, she had almost finished the whole plate of meat.

"That's what everyone says, but I'm very worried!" The woman sighed, looking somewhat helpless.

"What are you worried about?" Gou An asked curiously.

"My daughter is only three and a half years old!" The woman reached out and touched the chubby girl's head, looking worried. "But she's already so big, stronger than other ten-year-olds!"

"Huh?" Gou An was taken aback and looked at Fatty again.

But Fatty didn't care about any of that. She ate one bite of food and three bites of rice, thoroughly enjoying herself.

The woman continued, "And this little baby eats more in one meal than three adults."

"May I ask who the child's father is?" Gou An asked curiously.

The woman in front of him looked like an ordinary mortal; the daughter's extraordinary nature must be due to her father.

At this point, the woman sighed again and slowly said, "The child's father is a cultivator!"

"Oh?" Gou An became even more interested.

"A few years ago, I found a man who was injured and unconscious on the mountain!" the woman slowly recounted. "Seeing that he was still alive, I carried him back to the village and took good care of him."

"Later I learned that he was not an ordinary person, but a cultivator with supernatural powers. He had just been chased by his enemies and unfortunately fainted in the mountains."

"He was badly injured, and I took care of him for more than six months before he recovered. It was during this time that we developed feelings for each other..."

"Unfortunately, he was worried that his enemies would come looking for me, so he left some silver and left."

"He never came back after he left, and I found out I was pregnant shortly after he left."

After listening to the story, Gou An nodded slowly and then said, "So, your child isn't sick, but rather possesses an extraordinary talent!"

"But everyone in the village treats her like a monster!" the woman sighed helplessly.

"So what if they grow faster? It's not like they're monsters, is it?" Gou An asked doubtfully.

The woman shook her head and said, "Growing fast is only one aspect; she's incredibly strong!"

"Oh?" Gou An looked curiously at the chubby girl who was engrossed in eating, preparing to let her show off her skills.

Just then, Fatty finished off a large bowl of rice. She patted her stomach, seemingly still wanting more.

Sensing Gou An's gaze, Fatty blinked her bright eyes a few times, looking completely innocent.

There happened to be a stone mill in the yard. Fatty got up and walked over. Then, under Gou An's watchful eye, she lifted the millstone, which weighed over a hundred pounds, in one go.

Upon seeing this, Gou An couldn't help but gape.

Is this child only three years old?

After the presentation, Fatty sat back down, leaning back in her chair to savor the aroma of the meat.

"My child is only three years old and already like this. What will happen if he grows a few more years?" The woman looked worried.

Gou An rubbed his chin, then suddenly had an idea: "How about I test your child's spiritual root on one side?"

"Spiritual root?" The woman looked puzzled.

"Yes!" Gou An nodded, "It's a test of talent for cultivating immortality!"

"Like his father?" the woman asked again.

"That's right!" Gou An nodded.

"Then let's test it!"

Seeing that the woman agreed, Gou An took out a piece of jade from his pocket. It was a trinket that Gou An had found in the City of Ten Thousand Demons, which could be used to test one's spiritual root.

Unfortunately, only humans possess spiritual roots; demons do not, so it has never been used.

He looked at Fatty and said with a smile, "Fatty, stretch out your hand and hold this stone tightly, then don't think about anything, just relax."

"My name is Er Ya!" Fatty pouted.

"Okay! Er Ya, do as I say!" Gou An forced a smile.

"Okay!" Fatty was a little reluctant, but she did as she was told.

Her chubby hand gripped the jade tightly, and after a brief wait, the surface of the stone began to glow white.

According to the stall owner who sold him the stone, this spirit-testing stone could only detect the approximate spiritual root, which could be distinguished by different colors of light.

White light indicates a human-level spiritual root, purple light indicates an earth-level spiritual root, and golden light indicates a heaven-level spiritual root.

As for the grade, it can only be roughly distinguished by the intensity of the light.

Seeing only white light, Gou An was slightly disappointed.

Just as they were about to retrieve the stone, the white light suddenly shone and burst forth with purple light, eventually being completely swallowed up by the purple light.

"Earth-rank spiritual root?" Gou An raised an eyebrow.

But soon, several golden rays shot out from the purple light, and were eventually completely replaced by the golden light.

"A Celestial-Rank Spiritual Root?"

Gou An's eyes widened immediately.

The golden light gradually intensified, becoming somewhat dazzling even in daylight.

Gou An took back the spirit-testing stone, unable to hide his excitement.

Based on previous understanding, children with Heavenly Rank spiritual roots are extremely rare in the cultivation world. No matter which sect they are placed in, they will be regarded as treasures. It is no exaggeration to say that they are one in ten million.

Little did he expect that his casual wanderings would lead him to encounter a cultivation genius.